The Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) is currently conducting outreach to cities and other public employers that are part of state pension systems on employee “retirement readiness” as more employees look forward to managing their retirements in coming years. Cities have employees in several DRS-managed pension systems like PERS, LEOFF 2, and PSERS.

In recent years, Washington has done a better job of funding its statewide pension systems than most states. In fact, as of the end of 2021, Washington is among the top five states for state pension funding in the U.S. According to DRS, this has led to employer contribution rates coming down over recent biennia as more retirement plans become fully funded.

DRS reports that nearly half of the current employees in the PERS system have less than 20 years in the system, but that the median retirement time for PERS 2 retirees is 21 years of service. The department estimates that a PERS 2 pension will only make up about 42% of a retiree’s previous income, with Social Security only making up another 26%. Covering the remaining 32% is part of why DRS is doing outreach to help employees prepare for retirement with additional ways to save and be ready for retirement.

The department has several tools available to help mid-career employees prepare fully for retirement. They offer a Mid-Career Retirement Readiness page with resources on saving, budgeting, debt reduction, and estimating pension benefits. They also offer resources on supplemental state deferred compensation plans, managing your pension, and resources for retiring employees and separating employees.

If you are interested in having DRS present on retirement readiness at your city, or just to get more information about state retirement systems, you can reach out to:

Seth Miller
Retirement Readiness Director, WA Dept. of Retirement Systems
seth.miller@drs.wa.gov
360-664-7304